Japanese Midfielder Shunsuke Nakamura Quits International Football

Shunsuke Nakamura has retired from international football recently. He reached this decision after Japan’s exit from the World Cup at the round of 16 following their defeat to Paraguay on penalty shootout.

Shunsuke Nakamura started playing for Japan since 1998 and represented Japan in 98 international matches and netted 24 goals. He won two Asian Cup titles with Japan and represented the country in 2006 and 2010 World Cup.

Meanwhile, Japan coach Takeshi Okada has also decided to quit his job with Japan national team following his team’s failure to get into the quarter final. Okada was under pressure prior to the World Cup due to Japan’s poor shows in the friendly matches, but Japan put on some excellent performances during the tournament and the Asian side was unlucky not to qualify for the quarter final.

Japanese coach and fans may be unhappy with their unexpected exit from the tournament, but their entry into the round of 16 matched with most successful World Cup campaign in 2002 when they reached the round of 16 before losing to Turkey 1-0.

Though Shunsuke Nakamura has retired from international football, he would continue his club career. He is now playing for J League club Yokohama Marinos where he joined in January 2010 in a move away from La Liga club Espanyol. Earlier, Nakamura played for Scottish club Celtic and appeared in 128 matches in the Scottish Premier League during his four-year stint.